Unshakeable Confidence: Simple Tips to Boost Your Self-Belief

I like to think of self-confidence as a chest of sorts, that will act as your reserve of reassurance and hope. Confidence, as most of you will know, is the belief that things will not go wrong, and even if they do, they will be fixed eventually. Self-confidence is just that, except it applies to you, and only to you. It is easier to have confidence in others if you don’t have trust issues (which is a topic of its own, that shall have its own post eventually). But having confidence in oneself is where most of us fail, which is, by all means, a miserable way of falling out. Self-confidence is a must for long-term success and happiness. But why is that? Because it sounds like it! That’s not good enough; if we need to attain something, we should know why.So  

Why do we need Self-Confidence?

Advantage in Social Interactions: 

Being confident in yourself will help you present yourself to others. I have been, for the longest time, socially anxious and awkward. I don’t dare to claim I have changed, but I do think I have improved a good bit since then. I can speak to people now, be convincing, and even be confident while I do it. I know this sounds impossible to a lot of you. But bear in mind, I am not saying, “I was like you once, but now I have changed.”. No, I am still the same as any of you. But I have made a few improvements, and I owe it all to the self-confidence I have amassed in the last few months.

Motivation:

When you overcome the fear of failure and begin believing in your ability, it’s easier to start new projects and stick with old ones despite setbacks. “I can!” is a motivation that seems very generic but goes a long way.

Happiness:

Getting rid of that self-doubt constantly pecking at your head is a great way to start the long trek towards happiness. Self-confidence does exactly that, which eventually leads to acceptance. This brings us;

Self-love:

Confidence leads to healthy self-acceptance and self-love. No complex logical deduction is needed here. If you start believing in yourself, those cruel feelings of overwhelming self-doubt and judgmentalism will flutter off, and you’ll begin to like the way you are! If you’re interested, we did a breakdown of Self-Love as a separate post. I think you’ll find it rather helpful.

Healthier Relationships:

Self-belief really increases authenticity. I and most others have, at many points in our lives, worn a mask to fit into society. This is often done out of self-doubt- the fear that we will be disliked if we are our true selves. Confidence in ourselves eradicates or, at least, weakens that fear; so we can be our genuine selves. As many of you will know, genuineness is nigh-crucial to keeping relationships healthy.

Long-term Success:

Confidence is one of the first steps towards success. You can’t succeed if you’re afraid to start in the first place, belief in yourself will hopefully change that.

Influencing and Persuasion:

The human brain tends to work in mysterious (and stupid) ways. Sometimes it finds confidence more appealing than sheer logic. A combination of both is more than adequate to get most points across. Being confident during presentations lets you influence the other parties involved, it lets you steal their attention and keep it. You might have noticed just how much salespeople prioritize confidence.

There are a thousand more benefits to be listed, but you get the gist. That brings us to the bigger question-

How to be Confident?

Building self-confidence is a lengthy process, requiring changes in both lifestyle and mentality. You’ll have to gradually change how you think about yourself. It’s not easy, but you have to boost your self-esteem. Other than that, there are changes, both big and small, that you’ll have to apply to your work/study methods. Here are some tips that I think will help you out, but do remember that in the end, you’ll have to help yourself, and that starts by accepting that you are worthy of help.

Set Achievable Goals:

If you set out with the sole intention of winning a Nobel Prize, chances are, you’re not going to achieve that anytime soon. I’m not saying you should dream small. In fact, I encourage you to dream big but don’t try to achieve it all at once. Break tasks and goals down to small, achievable parts; and reward yourself each time you finish one.

Be Proud of What You’ve Already Accomplished:

Look back and evaluate. Are you doing even a tad bit better than you were a year ago? Or, a month ago? If yes, then be proud of that! Celebrate the small gains, and feel good about yourself. If you feel miserable all the time, it only worsens your projects.

Embrace Failure:

Let’s face it, it’s very unlikely, nigh-impossible even, that you succeed at something on the very first try. You will fail, it’s a part of life. It’s OK to feel bad about mistakes, it’s fine to cry. But leave it at that. Don’t let it get any worse and affect your work and/or studies. Try to learn from your mistakes. Where did you go wrong? Which topics do you find difficult? What should you improve?

Face Thy Fears: Why are you afraid? Is it only the somewhat universal fear of failure? Or, is it something deeper? These things are difficult to dissect by yourself, and most human traits have their origin in more than one factor, meaning there is almost always more than one answer. Try to deduce those, and get help if necessary. Read books, and scour the internet- there are plenty of resources available, but you’ll have to learn how to differentiate the logical from the BS.

Surround Yourself With Kindness:

Though a constant sprinkling of untrue, flattering compliments has yet to help anyone; most of us lack it altogether. Compliments aren’t a bad thing themselves, even the untrue ones have the potential to be helpful. They encourage you to go on, and they make you feel good about yourself- two fundamental elements of healthy self-esteem. But kindness, as you may already know, is not easy to find. I don’t claim this to be good advice, but if you’re unable to find kindness in the real world, there’s plenty on the internet. Join groups that you’re interested in, and share your work, maybe vent. Just keep the usual caution, and don’t get too attached.

Try not to procrastinate:

 It’s very ironic of me to give such seemingly unattainable advice. Look, you can’t completely rid your life of procrastination, you “just” have to limit it. It will take time, and you’ll have to start slow. Bear in mind that you can’t “just start working”. If that were even remotely possible, you wouldn’t be here reading about it. We will create a post on procrastination soon, and hopefully be helpful.

Accept Yourself As You Are:

Newsflash; nobody’s perfect! Nor are you, and you don’t have to be. Everybody’s different, and it’s just the way it is. Something might be child’s play for others, but nearly impossible for you. That’s normal. Everyone has to come out of their comfort zone at some point, there’s nothing we can do about it. Accept it, and move on. If you have to work harder, work harder. “Easier said than done”, I know. Again, nothing we can do about it.

I think you understand where I’m going with this. We’re trying to set up socials and, hopefully, a newsletter soon; to supply you with even more tips- on self-confidence and many other topics related to self-help. For now, find tips on the internet and keep to them. Change won’t come to you in a day, so be patient and keep practicing. I believe you can turn your life around, and I want you to think the same.